Belt for brake-wheels.



P'ATENTED JULY 3, 1906.

D. THOMAS.

BELT FOR BRAKE WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1905.

. com anying drawin s.

DANIEL THOMAS, OF GIRARD, OHIO.

tarn'r FIGE.

BELT FOR BRAKE-WHEELS.

\ Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentea dm y 3, 1906..

Application filed September 9,1905. Serial No. 277,747.

useful Improvements in Belts for Brake- Wheels, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the ac- T 's invention re ates to certain new and useful improvements in belts for brakewheels; and the invention has for its object to provide a novel form of belt free from all danger of being broken or injured by a sudden application of the belt to a brake-wheel.

My invention aims to provide a novel form of belt which will withstand a considerable amount of wear before the same is rendered useless, and in this connection I have constructed a belt consisting of a number of elements, each of which is strong and durable and when combined to form a belt the longevity of which is materially increased.

Heretofore considerable trouble and expense has been incurred by brake belts or ands cracking and eventually breaking at the points where they are fastened to the actuating mechanism for operating the belt to brake a wheel. It has been found in practice that before the belts wear from frictional contact with brake-wheels they crack and break at the points where the ends of the belt or band are gripped, this wearing and breaking of the belt or band reducingthe usefulness of the same, consequently increasing the expense of this form of brake mechanism.

My invention obviates the necessity of continually renewing brake-bands, this being accomplished by providing a band or belt having certain properties or elements which eliminate the possibility of the belt or band being broken or cracked by constant use.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In order that my invention may be fully understood, reference will herein be had to the accompanying drawings, illustrating the preferred embodiments of my invention, and

plurality of interlaced wires.

throughout the several views of which; like numerals of reference designate corresponding'parts. f

Fi ure 1 is a perspective view of abrakewhee and my improved brake bandorbelt. Fi 2 is a similar view of the brake band or be t detached from thewheeh Fig. 3 .is.a plan, partially broken away, of the brake and or belt. Fig. 4 is a sectional viewtaken on the line a; m of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a similar view of a modified form of construction.

To put my invention into practice, I construct my improved brake belt or band of leather or rawhide, fiberor wood, or strands of wire and employ metallic plates, bolts, and rivets to hold these elements together. It will of course be understood that my, improved brake belts or bands can be made of any do,- sired length, and we will assume that thcJo'elt or band is to partially surround a brake wheel 1, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Two pieces of leather or rawhide 2 and 3 are employed, and upon these pieces of leather or rawhide I place a layer of fiber 4. Arranged upon the fiber are cables 5, which areinterlaced, and each cable consists of a These cables are arranged the entire lengthof the belt or band, and upon the top .of these cables I arrange in a sinuous form strands of wire6, these wires being arranged transversely of the belt-at redetermined p0ints,as indicated in dotted ines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Upon the top of thestrands of wire 6 are longitudinally-arranged cables 7 similar to the cables 5.

To retain the difierent elements of the bel together, I employ rivets 8 8, these rivets extending through the leather or rawhide or fiber and upwardly between the cables and the strands of wire 6, the ends. of the rivets 8 8 being provided with washers 9 9 to fa cilitate them in engaging the outer layer of cables 7. The combination of these diiferent elements forms a flexible belt or band havingsufficient rigidity to form a strong and durable band, and by reinforcing or strengthening the leather or rawhide of the belt or band with cables and strands of Wire, should the leather or rawhide crack and eventually become broken the cables, together with the rivets, will retain the differ- ICO ent parts of the leather or rawhide in tion until it has become thoroughly worn and needs renewing. In employing the fiber as an intermediate element the heat which may arise from the frictional contact of the leather or rawhide with the periphery of the brake-wheel is prevented from in any man-- ner affecting the cables or wire employed for strengthening the leather or rawhide.

To secure the ends of the brake band or belt to a suitable actuating mechanism, I employ metallic plates 10 1 0 and 11 11, which are clamped to the bottoni-and top surfaces of the ends of the belt or band, and b'y lnuts and bolts or rivets 12, a plurality of nuts and bolts being employed to insure a perfect gripping of theends of the belt or and. The plates 10 10 are constructed whereby one end of the belt or band can be held stationary, while the opposite end may be suitably actuated to cause the belt or band to firmly engage the wheel 1, I not caring to limit myself to any specific form of ac-' tuating mechanism, as it is arbitrary and'nolt within the scope of the invention.

By referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be ob served that the ends of the pieces of leather or rawhide are not. held between the plates 10 I or '11, but are simply secured tov the cables and strands of wire by the rivets 8. This construction permits of the leather or raw hide assuming a position natural to the curvature of thebelt or band, and as considerable trouble has been experienced in the leather heretofore used cracking and event-u ally breaking at its connection with the plates 10=and' 11 this cracking and breaking of the leather is entirel eliminated and the use of the belt or band engthened.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings I have illustrated wood 14 as a substitute for the fiber, and in this c action I do not care to confine myself to riser or wood, as other material possessing the same or substantially the same characteristics may be employed.

It is thought from the'foregoing that the-- construction, operation, and advantages of the herein-described belt for brake-wheels will be a arent without further description.

What claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. A brakeb-and of the type described consisting of leather, fiberfarranged upon said leather, longitudinall strands of Wire sinuously arranged upon said cables, cables longitudinally arranged upon said strands of wire, rivets locking said elenients together, metallic plates clamping the ends of said elements together, substantially as described. I

2. In a brake band, the combination of leather, fiber, cables, strands of wire, and

means for securing said elements together,

substantially sis-described.

'3. In a brake-band, the combination of nally of the leather strips, and means for securing said leather strips to said cables, substantially as described.

4. In a brake-band, the combination of rawhide strips, and cables disposed longitudinally'of the rawhide strips and extending beyond the :ends of the same, means to se-- cure said rawhide to said cables, connectors arranged cables,

leather strips, cables extending longitudi- 

